{"id":26016,"date":"2023-11-25T09:28:20","date_gmt":"2023-11-25T16:28:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/viralyft.com\/blog\/?p=26016"},"modified":"2025-02-27T23:31:48","modified_gmt":"2025-02-28T06:31:48","slug":"instagram-engagement-drop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/viralyft.com\/blog\/instagram-engagement-drop","title":{"rendered":"10 Culprits: Why is Your Instagram Engagement Dropping?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We keep hearing people asking the same thing: <\/span><b><i>why is my Instagram engagement dropping?<\/i><\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Creators have been complaining about this issue for years. Meta changes its algorithm, and users who once had crazy comments and likes are receiving <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.quora.com\/My-Instagram-engagement-dropped-overnight-from-like-9-to-0-5-Nothing-changed-with-my-content-so-I-m-not-sure-what-triggered-the-downward-spiral-What-do-I-do-to-fix-this\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">90%<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> less engagement than just days before. And the cycle repeats itself.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>What gives?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Instagram does change the game every few months, so you need to <\/span><b>adapt and change with it \u2013 or lose engagement<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. You may also be making critical mistakes that are causing your metrics to tumble because you\u2019re missing small, critical details when you post.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you want to change course and revive your engagement, we\u2019re going to share <\/span><b>10 reasons for <a href=\"https:\/\/viralyft.com\/blog\/instagram-engagement\">Instagram engagement<\/a> dropping<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and how to increase it.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>1. <span style=\"color: #5339d3;\">Competition<\/span> is Higher \u2013 It&#8217;s Exploding<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You may have noticed that <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">competition is skyrocketing<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Everyone is trying to be an influencer or build their brand on Instagram. Five years ago, there was far less competition than there is today, so fewer eyeballs are seeing your content. <\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"su-list\" style=\"margin-left:0px\">\n<p><strong>Outpacing the competition requires:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><i class=\"sui sui-location-arrow\" style=\"color:#5339D3\"><\/i> Analyzing your niche and finding ways that you can create content that truly stands out<\/li>\n<li><i class=\"sui sui-location-arrow\" style=\"color:#5339D3\"><\/i> Posting consistently to keep more people engaged with your content<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One fact to remember is that a lot of the accounts that are eating away at your engagement will <\/span><b>not remain consistent for long<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. If you maintain a posting schedule and do everything you can to stay active, your content will be seen.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We&#8217;ll discuss what you should be posting and your schedule in great detail below.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>2. Non-Following <span style=\"color: #5339d3;\">Content in<\/span> <span style=\"color: #5339d3;\">Your Feed<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The chronological feed was the pinnacle of social media. You could log into your account and see all of the accounts you follow and their most recent posts in order of newest first. Feeds were amazing at this time, but you may have noticed a change:<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"su-list\" style=\"margin-left:0px\">\n<ul>\n<li><i class=\"sui sui-location-arrow\" style=\"color:#5339D3\"><\/i> Ads and promoted posts are everywhere<\/li>\n<li><i class=\"sui sui-location-arrow\" style=\"color:#5339D3\"><\/i> Non-followers are promoted in your feed<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What can you do? Absolutely nothing. Instagram will keep changing your feed and its order, pushing fewer people to see the posts you post. You can still receive great engagement and build a following, but you\u2019ll need to work harder to achieve the same results as you did in the past.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>3. You\u2019re Not <span style=\"color: #5339d3;\">Posting<\/span> Reels<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Instagram has <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">1.3 billion<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> daily users and an additional billion monthly active users. Your followers have a billion other people who they could follow, but they chose you in a sea of possibilities.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But <\/span><b>people want more than just static images<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">; they want to get to know you on a deeper level.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Reels are one of the leading forms of content for engagement and are heavily promoted by Instagram.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One issue that creators seem to have, aside from being camera shy, is that they don\u2019t know what to post on their reels. We have you covered.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"su-note\"  style=\"border-color:#e5ddce;border-radius:14px;-moz-border-radius:14px;-webkit-border-radius:14px;\"><div class=\"su-note-inner su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\" style=\"background-color:#fff7e8;border-color:#ffffff;color:#000000;border-radius:14px;-moz-border-radius:14px;-webkit-border-radius:14px;\"><div class=\"su-list\" style=\"margin-left:0px\">\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A few of the <\/span><b>options for reels <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">that work for any niche and audience are:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><i class=\"sui sui-location-arrow\" style=\"color:#5339D3\"><\/i> <strong>Vlogs<\/strong> \u2013 show your audience what you\u2019re up to<\/li>\n<li><i class=\"sui sui-location-arrow\" style=\"color:#5339D3\"><\/i> <strong>Day in the life<\/strong> \u2013 show the daily life of your business or personal brand<\/li>\n<li><i class=\"sui sui-location-arrow\" style=\"color:#5339D3\"><\/i> <strong>Behind the scenes<\/strong> \u2013 give your audience a behind-the-scenes peek at a major event, product reveals, house hunting, or anything intimate to you<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One hack that we want to mention because it works so well when posting reels, is to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/viralyft.com\/blog\/how-to-find-trending-audio-on-instagram\">use trending audio<\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. A lot of users will click on the most trending audio clips to find other creators who use them, and your reel will show up.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can gain some exposure and increase engagement by following these reel-related tips and adding trending audio.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"su-note\"  style=\"border-color:#e5ddce;border-radius:14px;-moz-border-radius:14px;-webkit-border-radius:14px;\"><div class=\"su-note-inner su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\" style=\"background-color:#fff7e8;border-color:#ffffff;color:#000000;border-radius:14px;-moz-border-radius:14px;-webkit-border-radius:14px;\"><strong><em>Hey!<\/em><\/strong> Don\u2019t know where to begin when making reels? Read through our <a href=\"https:\/\/viralyft.com\/blog\/how-to-make-a-reel-on-instagram\">ultimate guide to making Instagram reels<\/a>.<\/div><\/div>\n<h2><strong>4. You Need to <span style=\"color: #5339d3;\">Level Up<\/span> <span style=\"color: #5339d3;\">Your<\/span> <span style=\"color: #5339d3;\">CTA Game<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">CTAs are a <\/span><b>timeless method of driving engagement<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, but many people aren\u2019t using them properly. You&#8217;ll find most creators are not deliberately telling their audience what they want them to do, and it is costing them a <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ton<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of engagement.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"su-list\" style=\"margin-left:0px\">\n<p><strong>Don&#8217;t be afraid to tell your audience:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><i class=\"sui sui-location-arrow\" style=\"color:#5339D3\"><\/i> Tap the heart button if you ever felt like I did in this video.<\/li>\n<li><i class=\"sui sui-location-arrow\" style=\"color:#5339D3\"><\/i> Leave a comment below to let me know your thoughts on our new product.<\/li>\n<li><i class=\"sui sui-location-arrow\" style=\"color:#5339D3\"><\/i> Share this with your friends to help them learn my 5 secrets to getting fit.<\/li>\n<li><i class=\"sui sui-location-arrow\" style=\"color:#5339D3\"><\/i> If you loved this reel, drop a heart emoji in the comments to show me some love.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You want to be specific with your CTAs to encourage anyone viewing your content to take action. Trust me, <\/span><b><i>this simple tip really works<\/i><\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>5. You&#8217;re Not Using <span style=\"color: #5339d3;\">Interactive Stickers<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Stickers are interactive \u2013 <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">use them<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. <\/span><b>You need to mix up your content and use stickers as a way to encourage people to engage with you. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A few options for content that you can begin creating to push engagement metrics higher are:<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"su-list\" style=\"margin-left:0px\">\n<ul>\n<li><i class=\"sui sui-location-arrow\" style=\"color:#5339D3\"><\/i> Polls<\/li>\n<li><i class=\"sui sui-location-arrow\" style=\"color:#5339D3\"><\/i> Q&amp;As<\/li>\n<li><i class=\"sui sui-location-arrow\" style=\"color:#5339D3\"><\/i> Quizzes<\/li>\n<li><i class=\"sui sui-location-arrow\" style=\"color:#5339D3\"><\/i> Countdowns<\/li>\n<li><i class=\"sui sui-location-arrow\" style=\"color:#5339D3\"><\/i> Donations<\/li>\n<li><i class=\"sui sui-location-arrow\" style=\"color:#5339D3\"><\/i> Music<\/li>\n<li><i class=\"sui sui-location-arrow\" style=\"color:#5339D3\"><\/i> Hashtags<\/li>\n<li><i class=\"sui sui-location-arrow\" style=\"color:#5339D3\"><\/i> Locations<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You <\/span><b>don\u2019t need to use stickers for every Story<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, but you do want to add them into your content mix to keep things fun and exciting.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>6. You\u2019re Not Using the <span style=\"color: #5339d3;\">AIDA Model<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><b>Many Instagram creators are using the AIDA model to boost engagement. If you\u2019re not, this could be why your engagement is down.<\/b><\/p>\n<div class=\"su-list\" style=\"margin-left:0px\">\n<p><em><strong>AIDA stands for:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><i class=\"sui sui-location-arrow\" style=\"color:#5339D3\"><\/i> Attention<\/li>\n<li><i class=\"sui sui-location-arrow\" style=\"color:#5339D3\"><\/i> Interest<\/li>\n<li><i class=\"sui sui-location-arrow\" style=\"color:#5339D3\"><\/i> Desire<\/li>\n<li><i class=\"sui sui-location-arrow\" style=\"color:#5339D3\"><\/i> Action<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It&#8217;s an acronym used in marketing that refers to the customer journey.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"su-note\"  style=\"border-color:#e5ddce;border-radius:14px;-moz-border-radius:14px;-webkit-border-radius:14px;\"><div class=\"su-note-inner su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\" style=\"background-color:#fff7e8;border-color:#ffffff;color:#000000;border-radius:14px;-moz-border-radius:14px;-webkit-border-radius:14px;\"><div class=\"su-list\" style=\"margin-left:0px\">\n<p>For the <strong>purpose of boosting engagement on Instagram, <\/strong>you want to use the AIDA model to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><i class=\"sui sui-location-arrow\" style=\"color:#5339D3\"><\/i> <strong>A<\/strong>: Get your audience\u2019s attention<\/li>\n<li><i class=\"sui sui-location-arrow\" style=\"color:#5339D3\"><\/i> <strong>I<\/strong>: Make sure your content is interesting to them<\/li>\n<li><i class=\"sui sui-location-arrow\" style=\"color:#5339D3\"><\/i> <strong>D<\/strong>: Understand what your audience desires and how you can provide it<\/li>\n<li><i class=\"sui sui-location-arrow\" style=\"color:#5339D3\"><\/i> <strong>A<\/strong>: Add a call to action telling your audience what to do next<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The call to action is key to boosting engagement because it\u2019s what will drive your audience to like your post or comment on it.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>7. You\u2019re Still <span style=\"color: #5339d3;\">Posting Content<\/span> Like It\u2019s 2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Is your content plan a one-trick pony? <\/span><b>If you\u2019re still only posting static images with short captions and a ton of hashtags, this is probably why your engagement has dropped.<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/viralyft.com\/blog\/instagram-algorithm\">Instagram\u2019s algorithm<\/a> has changed <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">a lot <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">just in the last few years alone. Instagram itself has stated that they are not just a photo-sharing platform. You need to post a variety of content in order to see results.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you want to increase engagement, focus on creating videos, Reels, and static images. Experiment to see what works for your audience and the algorithm.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>8. You\u2019re Not <span style=\"color: #5339d3;\">Creating Audience<\/span>-Centric Content<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Are you creating content for your audience, or are you just creating content for the sake of it?<\/span><b> If you\u2019re not creating reels, videos, carousels, and static image posts that your followers will love, they won\u2019t engage with it.<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Even if you are creating content that focuses on topics that resonate with your audience, you may be making other critical mistakes.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"su-list\" style=\"margin-left:0px\">\n<ul>\n<li><i class=\"sui sui-location-arrow\" style=\"color:#5339D3\"><\/i> Your content is too long<\/li>\n<li><i class=\"sui sui-location-arrow\" style=\"color:#5339D3\"><\/i> You\u2019re not using hooks<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you\u2019re not creating audience-centric content, you\u2019re going to struggle with engagement.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">First, know your audience and the kind of content they want to see. Then, focus on how to present that content in a way that grabs their attention (using hooks) and feeds the algorithm what it wants.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>9. You <span style=\"color: #5339d3;\">Ghosted<\/span> Your Followers<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><b>One obvious reason why your engagement has dipped is because you ghosted your followers. You\u2019ve either taken a long break, or you&#8217;re just not posting often enough.<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Instagram favors content creators who post regularly. If your account goes cold, the algorithm will be less likely to show your content to your followers and people who may be interested in your account.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Because you\u2019re not posting, no one is engaging with your account, and so the vicious cycle continues.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At this point, you may need CPR to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/viralyft.com\/blog\/how-to-revive-a-dead-instagram-account\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">revive your dead Instagram account<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>You can be patient and create a plan to start posting again more consistently, or you can start over with a fresh account.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Both will take work and patience, but it will be worth it in the end.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>10. You&#8217;re Too <span style=\"color: #5339d3;\">Focused on Engagement<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Another reason why your Instagram engagement may be down is because you\u2019re so focused on engagement.<\/p>\n<p><strong><i>What does that mean?<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"su-list\" style=\"margin-left:0px\">\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It means that instead of creating great content that your audience will love, you\u2019re too focused on getting:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><i class=\"sui sui-location-arrow\" style=\"color:#5339D3\"><\/i> Likes<\/li>\n<li><i class=\"sui sui-location-arrow\" style=\"color:#5339D3\"><\/i> Comments<\/li>\n<li><i class=\"sui sui-location-arrow\" style=\"color:#5339D3\"><\/i> Shares<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s easy to get caught up on how your posts are performing when you want to increase your engagement. You want more people to interact with your account, so you start creating clickbaity, viral-like content just to build up those likes and comments.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>But here\u2019s the problem:<\/strong> your content may not resonate with your audience. Depending on your niche and following, they may even be turned off by that kind of content \u2013 especially if it\u2019s not really relevant or interesting to them.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So, if you want to boost your engagement, take those blinders off, and start shifting your focus to creating awesome content.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Summary<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If your engagement on Instagram is dropping, it\u2019s probably because of one of the reasons above. Now more than ever, you have to keep up with algorithm updates and focus on creating content that makes your audience stop scrolling and pay attention.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Are your posts losing engagement? Receiving fewer comments? Less likes? We reveal ten of the main reasons that your engagement is dropping \u2013 and how to fix it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":26100,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[154,76],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26016","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-challenges","category-instagram"],"acf":[],"modified_by":"John","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/viralyft.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26016","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/viralyft.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/viralyft.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/viralyft.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/viralyft.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26016"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/viralyft.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26016\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38067,"href":"https:\/\/viralyft.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26016\/revisions\/38067"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/viralyft.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26100"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/viralyft.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26016"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/viralyft.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26016"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/viralyft.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26016"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}